Unit 2; 14th Amendment and due process clause in 5th - 10th Amendment cases

Gideon v. Wainwright

court ruled that states must provide legal representation to those who cannot afford it, ensuring a fair trial as guaranteed by the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments.

• overturned the Court's prior ruling in Betts v. Brady, which had allowed states to deny counsel in non-capital cases

• established the right to counsel for indigent defendants in state criminal trials

Escobedo v. Illinois

the Supreme Court ruled that criminal suspects have a right to counsel during police interrogations.

• Established that once an investigation focuses on a suspect and they request counsel, the police must allow them to consult with an attorney.

• This decision significantly expanded the scope of the Sixth Amendment right to counsel, ensuring individuals have access to legal representation during the critical stage of police interrogation.

Furman v. Georgia (1972)

Supreme Court effectively suspended the death penalty in the United States by ruling that existing capital punishment statutes were unconstitutional under the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments.

Gregg v. Georgia (1976)

upheld the constitutionality of the death penalty in the United States, provided it is applied with carefully drafted statutes that ensure fairness and avoid arbitrary or capricious application.

• stemmed from a challenge to Georgia's revised death penalty statute, enacted after the Supreme Court's 1972 decision in Furman v. Georgia declared existing death penalty laws unconstitutional.

• The Court found that the death penalty, when applied judiciously, did not violate the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments.